Empire executive producers Lee Daniels, Danny Strong, Brett Mahoney, Brian Grazer, Sanaa Hamri, Francie Calfo and Dennis Hammer released a joint statement saying Smollett’s character, Jamal, was being removed from the final two episodes of the season “to avoid further disruption on set.”

“The events of the past few weeks have been incredibly emotional for all of us,” the series executives said in a statement released Friday.

The statement continued: “Jussie has been an important member of our Empire family for the past five years and we care about him deeply. While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system as the process plays out. We are also aware of the effects of this process on the cast and crew members who work on our show and to avoid further disruption on set, we have decided to remove the role of ‘Jamal’ from the final two episodes of the season.”

Prosecutors say Smollett gave detailed instructions to the accomplices who helped him stage the attack in January, including telling them specific slurs to yell, urging them to shout “MAGA country” and even pointing out a surveillance camera that he thought would record the beating.

Lawyers for the Beautiful singer blasted what they called an “organized law enforcement spectacle” on Thursday after Smollett was arrested, charged with felony disorderly conduct for allegedly lying to police and later freed after posting a $100,000 bond.

In a statement reported by WGN TV News and NBC News, Smollett’s legal team said the police carried out a “spectacle that has no place in the American legal system.”

“The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett and notably, on the eve of a mayoral election,” the statement reads.

“Mr. Smollett is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence and feels betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing.”